Police Defend Probe Into Singapore Death

The death of an engineer working on gallium nitride research in Singapore has many complexities – considering he had expressed concerns that his work at Singapore’s Institute of Microelectronics may be compromising US security. Shane Todd was found hanged in his home after his last day of work at IME. “After Todd’s death, the family found an external computer hard drive in his Singapore apartment with work files including one labelled ‘Huawei’ – which appears to be a plan for a joint project between IME and Huawei Technologies, the Chinese telecoms company, for the development of gallium nitride,” reports the Financial Times. Analysis of the engineer’s hard drive showed that files on IME and his research had been accessed three days after his death. The family has asked that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation be put on the case, but Singapore police defend their investigation, which labeled the death a suicide. The case could put global cooperation on sensitive research on hold. – YaleGlobal